Marwan Issa

Marwan Abdel Karim Ali Issa (; 1965 – 10 March 2024) was a Palestinian militant who was the deputy commander of Hamas' military wing, Al-Qassam Brigades.

Issa was born in the Bureij refugee camp in the Gaza Strip in 1965. He was educated at the Islamic University of Gaza, and played basketball for Al-Bureij Services Club. He was arrested in 1987 during the First Intifada for his involvement with Hamas. Issa was said to have had a major role in planning the October 7 attacks. On 10 March 2024, he was killed in an Israeli airstrike in Nuseirat during the 2023 Gaza War. He was educated at the Islamic University of Gaza, and played basketball for Al-Bureij Services Club. In 1987, he was arrested during the First Intifada.

Leadership in Hamas Issa became the head of the Qassam Brigades in the refugee camps in the central Gaza Strip and played a central role in the development of their military systems. Issa was later one of Israel's most wanted militants. He was seriously wounded in an Israeli assassination attempt during a 2006 meeting also attended by Deif and other top Qassam Brigade commanders.

Issa rarely appeared in public, but in 2011, he was photographed at a reception for those released in the Gilad Shalit prisoner exchange. Issa was a member of the Hamas team negotiating the exchange with Ahmed Jabari, Saleh al-Arouri, and Nizar Awadallah. The European Union linked Issa directly to the attack and placed Issa and Deif on its terrorist blacklist on 8 December.

Assassination Israel had previously attempted to assassinate Issa by destroying his house twice, during the 2014 Gaza War and the 2021 Israel–Palestine crisis, killing his brother. Issa's son was killed in an Israeli airstrike in central Gaza in December 2023. Marwan Issa was labeled a Specially Designated Global Terrorist by the United States in September 2019.

On 11 March 2024, Israel announced the targeting of an underground facility in Nuseirat, central Gaza, used by Issa, airing footage of the strike and noting that the results were still being analyzed. Israel announced the targeting of an underground facility in Nuseirat in the central Gaza Strip, apparently used by Issa, airing footage of the strike and noting that the results were still being analyzed. Five Palestinians were reportedly killed in the bombing. Hamas did not respond until it privately confirmed Issa's death on 17 March 2024. Hamas officially confirmed his death on 19 January 2025. Hamas, which had not disclosed much about its senior military leaders during the war, did not immediately respond. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reportedly hailed the news as "a great achievement for Israel" and stated "they will all die, we will reach them all."

On 18 March 2024, White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan confirmed Issa's death. He added that "a military plan cannot succeed without an integrated humanitarian plan and political plan".

On 26 March 2024, the Israel Defense Forces officially confirmed Issa's death.

Initially, Hamas did not confirm or deny Issa's death publicly. On 19 January 2025, Hamas officially confirmed that Marwan Issa has been killed. This was later affirmed in a speech by Abu Obeida, the spokesperson for the Qassam Brigades, which serves as the armed wing of Hamas.

According to the Israel Defense Forces, the other targeted Hamas official, Ghazi Abu Tama'a, was a former head of Hamas's Central Camps Brigade and was responsible "for all of Hamas's weapons in Gaza".

The Qassam Brigades held a funeral service for Marwan Issa on 7 February 2025, and he was buried in his birthplace of Bureij.

Analysis Experts noted that Issa's death did not represent a significant threat to the group's survival, insisting that "there's always a replacement" and that Hamas will "overcome" the assassination in a week or two.